Alternative Energy

[Transat 5]

Sorry to butt in here guys but you touched on something that has been bugging me here in the US for years now.

Incidentally the mpg isnt a true comparison
A US gallon is less than a UK or EU gallon
the US gallon is 20% less.

However , and this has been my beef here, it looks much worse when you consider that maybe 50% of vehicles in the EU are diesel.

Check out Vauxhalls 1.9 16 valve turbo diesel on the site you linked too.
0-80 mph in what 7 secs
top speed over 130mph !!

and 1/3rd the CO2 emissions of a comparable US auto.
There are stricter emission regs to reach by2008 in the EU
Oh and around 60 mpg for this level of performance (diesel is cheaper in the EU by the way)

KIA have a good turbo range not available in the US as do many others.
Its difficult to see the point of a big guzzling V8 when your only allowed to 'cruise' at 75mph

Have a good w/e